Yeah, and look where gooey had gotten her. The last time she melted like a chocolate bar on a hot day she’d ended up pregnant as a nineteen year old college student. And it had landed her right here a decade and a half later.
After lifting the heavy spare tire into the trunk, she sat down heavily on the driver
’s seat and let her head fall back against the chair. So now she didn’t only owe him ten thousand dollars, or for the help he’d given her changing the flat, but for a brand spanking new Goodyear tire that would probably cost more than all the money left in her checking account.
And still the fire didn’t go out. Her mouth dried as she thought about those eyes. The ones that kept looking at hers. And his lips, damn they were hot. She’d never really noticed a man’s lips before but his were flawless. Soft and parted. Maybe a little too big on anybody else, but perfectly masculine with his square jaw and dark beard.
The kind of lips you’d never want to stop kissing.
She rolled her eyes at herself. Those whiskey fumes had to be stronger than she’d thought. Because she didn’t do gooey.
She did strong mom. Determined worker. Woman who wouldn’t be messed with.
But gooey? Definitely not that. Because gooey always ended in a big mess.
“Look at us,” Tanner said, carrying a tray of beers to the table where Cam was sitting with his brothers. “The Heartbreak Brothers together again. I never thought I’d see the day.” He handed a bottle to Logan, Cam’s twin, and then to Gray, their eldest brother. They’d deliberately chosen a table in the far corner of the Moonlight Bar. With Gray’s worldwide fame as a Grammy Award winning singer, and Cam’s football career, they were used to attracting attention whenever they got together.
But if they could, they avoided the spotlight. When it was the four of them – or five when their younger sister, Becca agreed to join them – they wanted to be normal. Shoot the breeze without having to put on a front. Tease each other the way they did when they were teenagers sitting around the kitchen table while Aunt Gina chided them for not washing their hands or bickering over the mashed potatoes.
“Do you know you’re the only one of us that calls us the Heartbreak Brothers?” Gray said, shaking his head. “I thought we left that shit behind when we left high school.”
“By the time I started high school, it was part of the local lexicon.” Tanner shrugged. “It’s not my fault we’re handsome bastards.”
Cam choked on a mouthful of beer. The youngest of the four at twenty-nine, Tanner was the wackiest, too. The family clown who always made them smile. Gray was the protective older brother. Logan, the one who always talked things out. And Cam? He’d always been the strong and silent type. The one who quietly got things done. It was only on the football field that he’d stood out.
Of course, that had changed over the years. It was impossible not to have a certain amount of confidence when you were the star safety of your team. That self-belief was critical to succeeding in his career.
Logan tipped his head to the side, a smile playing on his lips. “I hear you’ve started going to Lainey’s beauty salon to get your nails done,” he said to Tanner.
“Yeah. So what?” Tanner shrugged. “A man’s hands are important. When I shake on a deal I want to look successful. Maybe you should go. I hate to say it, but you’re starting to smell of farm.”
Logan blinked. “Farm? Get out of here. I shower every day.” He took a swig of beer, then surreptitiously lifted his hand to his nose to sniff it. “Farm,” he muttered. “Asshole.”
Gray lifted his beer to Cam. “Welcome back. I bet you’re happy to be here talking about beauty salons and pig shit. Beats being in Boston on a Friday night, am I right?”
Cam raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Yep. Just how I wanted to spend my Friday night. If I wanted to talk nail colors, we could have gone to Chairs.”
Tanner shuddered. “Don’t talk about Chairs. I hate it. I swear it should be declared a form of torture in the Geneva Convention.”
“Didn’t you propose to Van at Chairs?” Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, yeah.” Tanner’s brows knitted together. “But that doesn’t count. It’s still the ninth circle of hell on any night I’m not proposing.”
“It’s just a Friday night get together,” Cam murmured, shaking his head. “How bad can it be?” Chairs had been part of Hartson’s Creek’s weekly tradition for as long as Cam could remember. It took place every Friday night from spring to fall. The townsfolk would drive to the grassy shore along the creek, bringing their own chairs and baked goods, along with pitchers of lemonade and ice tea for them all to share. And of course there was gossip. A whole pile of it.
When Cam was a kid, they’d go with their Aunt Gina and set up games of flag football in the fields. But he hadn’t been to Chairs for years.
Thank God.
“It’s not just a get together,” Tanner grumbled to Cam. “It’s a chance for the whole town to look at you and judge. You can bet you’re the topic of conversation right now. They’re probably all planning on pushing their eligible daughters on you as we speak. Before you know it, there’ll be a crowd of them standing outside your house with torches, chanting for you to come out.
“This is Hartson’s Creek, not Salem,” Logan pointed out. “And won’t they be more likely to talk about you?” he asked Tanner. “I hear you and Van are thinking about starting a family. She’s probably describing it in intimate detail to everybody there. Stamina, fertility, and everything else.”
Even in the gloom of the bar, Cam could see Tanner blanch. “How do you know we’re trying for a baby?”
“Van told Courtney. She wanted some tips.” Logan grinned. “I guess some of us have it and some of us don’t.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Gray asked. “I’ve got two kids.”